Winter lawn care: preparing your lawn and edges for a strong spring comeback

30 July 2025

Winter might give you a break from summer’s relentless mowing schedule, but it’s no time to forget about your lawn. While grass growth noticeably slows in the cooler temperatures, your lawn still needs some attention through the colder months. With just a little care now, you’ll be rewarded with a healthier, more resilient lawn that requires less maintenance and attention come spring – and at the heart of a healthy lawn is EverEdge garden edging.

Mow smart

Whereas growth warm-season varieties of grasses like kikuyu, couch, and buffalo slow, cool-season grasses such as perennial rye, fescue, and Kentucky blue grass remain active through winter and benefit from regular mowing. Every 3–4 weeks should do the trick, depending on growth.

Keep the mower height up a little higher than you usually would set it to allows for a thicker leaf area to absorb more light and helps the lawn stay robust.

Mow on a dry day and use a catcher to reduce fungal issues.

Sharpen mower blades and clean them between cuts to prevent disease spread - healthy grass starts with clean tools.

Light and airflow matter

Low winter sun and a change to trees can put your lawn under stress. Your lawn needs light to be able to photosynthesise so where necessary, prune overhanging branches to allow more light through to vulnerable areas of lawn. Regularly raking leaves prevents the blanket of tree debris smothering the lawn and helps reduce the risk of disease. Moss and fungal issues thrive in damp, low-light conditions, so improving air and light circulation is key.

Feed roots, not leaves

Feeding your lawn in winter isn’t essential, but it can be beneficial - particularly in warmer regions or for cool-season grasses. But it’s important to choose a formula that supports root development and soil biology – this helps to improve resistance to stress and fungal issues.

A black lawn edging is surrounded by gravel and grass

Define and protect lawn edges

Winter is a great time to re-establish or install garden edging, especially if the ground is softer after rainfall. EverEdge’s steel landscape edging creates a clean, durable boundary that stops grass from creeping into garden beds and helps maintain a tidy, structured lawn shape through winter and beyond. Unlike plastic or timber, metal landscape edging doesn’t rot, crack or shift during frost or heavy rains, and it can be mowed over without risk of damage.

Frost, moss and drainage

Avoid walking on frosty lawns as ice crystals can crush grass blades. If frost lingers, hose it off before morning sun hits. Although this feels counterintuitive, hosing frost from the lawn helps minimise discolouration, wilting and stunted growth.

If you notice an abundance of moss on your winter lawn, it can be a sign the soil is compacted and waterlogged. Adequate drainage is crucial for a healthy lawn. Garden edging can be used to control water flow and prevent pooling by directing water away from vulnerable areas – whether through being used to create a subtle slope or directing water towards drainage points.

Winter is the time of year when the garden hibernates, however, spending time on lawn maintenance now will pay dividends as the new growing season starts. So, while your lawn is at a grow-slow stage, take this opportunity to define your spaces, tidy up the edges, and invest in products that will pay off in spring. Steel garden edging does more than just neaten things up - it actively contributes to lawn health. If you would like any help or guidance on how to use EverEdge steel garden edging products, please do get in touch – we’re more than happy to help you. Contact EverEdge today on 021 925 389 or email simon@everedgenz.co.nz.

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Man installing edging along a lawn path in a garden.

The gardener’s guide to avoid garden edging mistakes

by Simon Mullinger • 25 August 2025

A well-designed garden isn’t just about the plants you choose; it’s the finishing touches that make all the difference. Garden edging frames your beds, pathways, and lawns, creating a clean, structured look while keeping soil, mulch, and grass exactly where they should be. But despite its time-saving capabilities, small mistakes during planning or installation can leave you with an untidy or high-maintenance garden – exactly what you didn’t sign up for. As a supplier of the best high-quality steel landscape edging products in New Zealand , EverEdge has heard it all – from shallow installs that allow grass to creep back in, to cracked or warped materials that ruin a carefully designed border. To help you get it right the first time, here are the top three garden edging mistakes and how you can avoid them. 1. Choosing the wrong edging material One of the most common mistakes is selecting edging that doesn’t stand the test of time. Plastic and timber edging might look appealing initially, but they deteriorate quickly over time, accelerated by harsh weather. Plastic warps under the sun, while timber is prone to rotting and shifting. Both often require replacement within just a few seasons. Even if you opt for the more expensive concrete garden edging it is vulnerable to ground movement and freeze-thaw cycles. By contrast, metal landscape edging, particularly steel garden edging, offers durability, flexibility, and a clean aesthetic. It can be shaped into sweeping curves or sharp angles without cracking, and it resists corrosion for decades. EverEdge products are designed for professional results and are trusted by landscapers across New Zealand for everything from garden bed edging and metal tree ring edging to driveway edging. Choosing a long-lasting material from the outset saves you time, money, and endless frustration down the line. 2. Installing at the wrong depth Even the best edging material won’t perform if it’s not installed correctly . A frequent error is laying edging too shallow. This allows mulch and soil to spill over and gives grass and weeds the perfect opportunity to creep back into your beds. Too deep, on the other hand, and the edging becomes buried, disappearing from sight and failing to give that crisp separation between lawn and border.